‘My Word Against His’ by Lauren North

Author : Lauren North
Title : My Word Against His
Pages : 320
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication date: May 25, 2023
Source : Netgalley

| ABOUT THE BOOK |

‘It’s me,’ says the voice on the other end of the line. It’s been thirteen years and I still recognise it. Thirteen years of nothing. Silence. Not even a birthday card. ‘It’s time for you to tell the truth. It’s life or death.’

Three hours later, car tyres screech and the air bags release. For a second, nothing happens. There’s only stunned silence and a ringing in my ears.

I peel open my eyes. What have I done? There’s a groan, and I gasp, terrified, at the sight of the man next to me. This is all his fault.

Fumbling with the door, I half step, half fall into the freezing cold air. I’m shivering all over as my knees land on the tarmac. ‘Help,’ I whisper into the dark, empty street.

Then there’s a flash of blue light. A siren. The police are coming. They will save me, and arrest him. They will see a dangerous man and an innocent victim – a loving mother with a son she cherishes.

They have to – because they can’t know the truth. They can’t discover what happened thirteen years ago and what happened tonight. All those years back, the lies nearly destroyed us. I won’t let that happen today.

It’s my word against his. And there’s no line I won’t cross to protect my family.

| MY THOUGHTS |

Hoo boy! This is a bit of a wild rollercoaster ride that probably should have come with a whiplash warning.

Talk about beginning a story with a bang. Celia is in her car when a young man with a knife jumps into the passenger seat and demands that she drive him to Leeds. Someone is in the wrong place at the wrong time here. But who? Lives are about to be changed irrevocably once Celia decides what to do. Her word against his. Surely Celia will be believed. She’s a loving mother, a law-abiding citizen. Whereas the young man who kidnapped her can’t be seen as anything else but dangerous. There is no line Celia won’t cross to protect her family.

Not a particularly likeable character, our Celia here. At first glance, she comes across a woman who is merely very much set on daily routines. But it soon becomes clear there is far more to it than that. For the most part, she drove me completely crazy and I couldn’t imagine having to share a house/life with someone like her. She’s a tad … flawed, let’s say. But she’s not the only one.

There isn’t very much I can stay about this story. Every word that comes out of my mouth seems to be a spoiler and we don’t want that, do we. The book blurb is really the only thing you need. A delightfully intriguing sneak peek that leaves you wanting more. I’m pretty sure you will not be prepared for the level of messed-up-ness (totally a word) you’ll come across while reading.

‘My Word Against His‘ is a twisty and twisted psychological thriller full of suspense and lies. I had a hard time figuring out what was going on, and just when I thought I had the whole thing sussed, Lauren North threw me off again. Nothing, or nobody, is what/who it seems. There is a constant sense of doom, a threatening vibe, a feeling of unease, that sense that danger is lurking but you just can’t work out where it might be coming from.

This is one of those books where I sit back once I’ve finished it and wonder if everything actually all made sense. I don’t know that it did – I’d have to re-read it – but I also don’t care because I had a wonderfully entertaining afternoon with “My Word Against His” and I think you, dear reader, will too. An absorbing, addictive page-turner, for sure.

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Amazon UK [out on Thursday!]

My thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.